Retail establishments and other commercial outlets usually permit several different options for payments for goods and services. Traditionally, these have included cash, check, and credit card. More recently, certain outlets now permit the use of debit cards which transfer funds from the customer's account to the seller's account electronically through the use of a debit card.
Debit cards owe their efficiency to communications systems which link directly various banks and retail establishments. The vehicle by which the customer debits his account is a credit-card-like card, having a magnetic strip and certain information stored on that magnetic strip. Typically, the debit card is slid through a magnetic card reader, either by the customer or by the seller. Customer then enters a secret personal identification number on a keypad which, when verified, will permit the debiting of customer's account and the crediting of seller's account.
With the advent of this form of payment, as well as the improved data communication system which currently exists for communication between retail outlet and banks with respect to authorizations for credit card customers and with third party check verifiers there has been an increase in the amount of counter space taken up by these electronic devices.
To complicate matters even further, in some outlets sellers desire that their employee slide the credit card through the reader and enter an identification number as well as an amount to obtain credit authorization, at the same time they are checking the signature of the card holder. In addition, with the increased use of debit cards as a replacement for cash, there is a movement to insure that customer does not need to relinquish his debit card to seller or seller's employees.
Both employee and customer need access to key pads. Thus, the current situation has increased the numbers of electronic devices needed at the checkout counter.
More and more of such systems are being used by retailers for whom counter space is at a premium and resulting in customer spending additional time in checkout lines. These problems are especially acute for small retailers with limited counter space. Thus, there is a need for a compact and inexpensive holder for a number of key pads and printers.